


Caught in a Web

by trysomecats



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Phanfiction, School, Teenagers, rich/poor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:25:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trysomecats/pseuds/trysomecats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan was offered to join Willow Grove Academy, Britain’s most prestigious and renowned private school, on a full scholarship. All of the other students are rich, unlike Dan who comes from a modern lower class society. Things become complicated when he lies about his background to Phil Lester, the most popular and richest boy in the school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Dan had no idea why he had accepted the offer to attend Willow Grove Academy, Britain’s most prestigious and renowned private school. It was upon his parent’s insistence really, because getting into such a high class school on a full scholarship was apparently a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So far the beginning of his first day had been intimidating and irksome. This was mostly based on the students that were attending here. They were all incredibly rich and posh, not to mention snobbish and narcissistic.

His uniform felt much too crisp and clean, and he couldn’t help squirming uncomfortably every time a student laid eyes on him. So far nobody had gone out of their way to speak to him, but that was rather pleasing. If they found out he didn’t have the same status as wealth as them then he’d probably be a social outcast. Better to be invisible then looked down upon.

It was in his second period where he made his first friend. The professor had nodded stiffly upon his entrance and directed him towards the back of the room next to a girl with long blonde curls and a warm smile.

“I’m Louise,” She whispered as the professor had began talking in a tiresome drawl.

“Dan,” He introduced himself, fiddling with his number 2 pencil awkwardly. So far he hadn’t seen a single other person with a pencil, apparently expensive silver pens were all the rage. Louise seemed to notice and giggled.

“Want one of my pens? The professors really prefer ink to graphite, they might mark you down for that. They’re all prats really.”

Dan found himself returning her grin and accepting the offer. After the general awkward introduction, he found himself getting along well with the girl. She wasn’t too nosy about his home life or status; she seemed more interested in chatting about the professors and latest gossip of the school, which Dan had a hard time keeping up with seeing as he’d only been here for two hours.

It turned out that they had third period arithmetic together as well. Dan was glad for that, because this school was four stories high and very spacious and large, he would have been lost for sure trying to find the class.

During the trek to arithmetic was when Dan first laid eyes on him, him being a boy with black hair, bright eyes, and the most handsome face Dan had ever seen. He was sitting on one of the large window sills of the second story with two other boys, seemingly laughing at a joke one of them had said.

“Hey Louise, who is he?” Dan had asked curiously, keeping his voice low.

“That would be Phil Lester,” Louise informed him. “He’s known by everybody here, he comes from a family of billionaires. His Dad is one of the biggest contributors to the school actually. I wouldn’t get too involved with him Dan, despite how gorgeous he is, even if he does fancy boys.”

Dan felt his heart drop in disappointment, not even bothering to cover up that he too preferred boys over girls. “Why?”

“He’s the biggest most arrogant snob of the school, and that’s saying something since we’re all pretty snobbish. Trust me, he only talks to Chris and PJ, he doesn’t waste his time with anybody else.”

“Oh,” Dan swallowed. Yeah, he had no chance whatsoever. If Phil didn’t even talk to people who were actually rich like Louise, then he would probably avoid Dan like the plague. When Phil suddenly looked over and seemed to make eye contact, Dan flushed and diverted his eyes to the ground.

“Unless you’re really from a family of billionaires?” Louise asked suddenly, and Dan instantly tensed up.

“Not billionaires, no.”

Thankfully they had then arrived at their class so Louise didn’t bug him about his background anymore, instead she introduced him to siblings Zoe and Joe Sugg. Their parents owned a huge makeup and fashion corporation that was worldwide, but neither teen seemed too conceited. Zoe and Louise were apparently best friends, so Dan was automatically accepted with their friendship.

Next period Dan had Advanced English Literature, but Louise had Home Economics, which was apparently the complete opposite direction of Dan’s class.

“Just go one floor up and take a right. It’ll be at the end of the hall.”

Dan had to trust Louise’s directions, wishing terribly that he had been given a less complicated map and schedule. Once the bell rang he stumbled through the hallway looking for a staircase that led to the next story. When he hurriedly rounded a corner, Dan crashed harshly into another student, falling backwards onto the floor and spilling his books.

“Watch where you’re going!” A voice angrily snapped, and Dan flinched, too terrified to look up from the floor. The last thing he needed was to get on somebody’s bad side his first day here.

“S-Sorry,” He mumbled, face flushing bright red in embarrassment.

“Now now Chris, there’s no need to be so rude.” Another teen commented, and Dan found himself peeking up and then doing a double take.

Phil Lester was standing above him flanked by his two friends, one of them being Chris, whom Dan had unfortunately crashed into. He found himself feeling petrified on the spot, looking up with wide, fearful eyes. Of course he would run into the most popular and judgemental people of the school.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Phil spoke again, holding out a hand as an invitation to help him up. He didn’t really sound mean at all, more concerned than anything.

“I’m fine,” Dan finally garbled out when he realized he wouldn’t do himself any justice if he just kept staring like a freak. “Er, I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going, of course that’s no excuse or anything, but I really didn’t mean to-”

“Calm down, it happens,” Phil stopped his embarrassing ramble, reaching down to grab Dan’s hand and pull him up since the other still hadn’t moved. “I saw you this morning. You’re new, aren’t you?”

“New? Oh, um, yeah…yes I’m new.” Dan wanted nothing more than to run home and hide under his bedcovers. He couldn’t even handle talking to average class people, let alone incredibly loaded and scary students from stupid rich academies. There was also that fact that Phil’s hand felt nice against his own, cool and smooth skinned. He was disappointed when Phil let go.

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out, there’s only around two hundred people attending Willow Grove,” The other boy who wasn’t Chris said. If Dan remembered what Louise had said earlier correctly, he must have been PJ.

“What’s your name?” Phil asked, seemingly studying his face closely.

“Dan Howell,” Dan told them rather awkwardly. He still couldn’t believe this this handsome rich kid was going out of his way to have a conversation with him. Dan briefly glanced at his soft lips and imagined kissing them, but quickly flushed and shook the thought out of his head.

“Howell, that doesn’t sound familiar. What does your dad do for work?” Chris, who had seemingly forgiven him, asked curiously.

This was where Dan had made his biggest mistake. Since the day he was born his parents had taught him that honesty was the best policy. Unfortunately Dan was self conscious enough as it was, and now that he was actually talking to a group of rich boys who were actually interested in speaking with him, so things got difficult.

That was why he’d told the most bullshit lie he’d ever had the privilege of coming up with.

“He does serious business over in…India. Yeah, he does a lot of important stuff over there.”

The only tiny truth about that statement was that he’d been on family holiday in India with his parents last year, a trip that they’d been saving money up and planning for quite awhile. No, in reality his Dad was an overworked and underpaid office worker and his mum was a doctor’s office secretary. They lived comfortably, but certainly not anything compared to the students at this school.

“International affairs, huh?” PJ whistled. “I’ve never been to India before.”

“Heh…yeah” Dan knew he’d just dug himself into some deep shit. He laughed nervously and waited for them to call him out on his fib and start beating him up or something.

“Are you enjoying your time at Willow Grove so far?” Chris asked, his tone now completely friendly.

Dan blinked owlishly; had they really believed his stupid lie? A part of him felt accomplished and clever, although his inner conscience burned with shame. He needed to get away from this trio as soon as possible, because there was no way he’d be able to keep lying to their faces.

“Yes, it’s a lovely school. I was actually looking for the Advanced English Literature classroom, could you maybe tell me how to get there?”

“I have Advanced Lit too, I’ll take you there,” Phil volunteered quickly. Dan felt a mixture of happiness and panic.

“Right, well me and Peej better get to History class. Have fun you two!” Chris sang the last sentence, grabbing PJ by the arm and dragging him in the opposite direction. Dan and Phil were both quiet for a moment, before Dan remembered his books on the ground and bent down to pick them up.

“I’m surprised really,” Phil murmured as he joined Dan in collecting the books. “You didn’t even ask any of us about our wealth or status. That’s usually the first thing people do here.”

“Is it?” Dan asked, trying not to sound sarcastic. Stupid arrogant rich kids…

“Yeah. Have you even been to school before?” Phil asked, an eyebrow raised.

Well of course Dan had been to school, but in public school introductions were a lot different. Of course if Dan mentioned that he’d been to a public school that would be a dead giveaway. His mind quickly searched for a reasonable excuse for his reserved politeness, which was apparently something that children at this school lacked.

“My parents preferred to homeschool me. You know, with a tutor and stuff.”

He definitely wasn’t expecting Phil’s next reaction. “Oh god, that explains everything! So many parents think it’s a good idea to keep their kids shielded from the world, but it never turns out good. They become feeble and helpless when it comes time for real human interaction.”

Well, Dan certainly didn’t agree on the feeble and helpless part, but he had to admit that he had always been a sucker when it came to human interaction.

Perhaps Phil thought he had offended Dan, because he then said, “Of course you’ll probably be really great academically in all your classes, tutors always get you way ahead. I had a tutor until I was ten, but Father finally realized how shy I was around people. School’s helped a lot with that.”

“That’s- That’s good,” Dan responded, because he really wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“This must all be really intimidating. Don’t worry though, I’ll help you adjust.”

Dan almost choked. Was Phil actually offering friendship to him?

Phil grabbed his shoulder and steered him around. “Come on, class is this way. You were headed in the wrong direction.”

The other students around them seemed to be gawking, so Louise had obviously been telling the truth when she’d mentioned that Phil didn’t really acknowledge anyone aside from Chris and PJ. Phil didn’t seem to notice as he led Dan into his third period of the day.

Throughout the day Dan became mentally exhausted. It turned out that he also had fifth period Chemistry with Phil as well, and after that he’d been invited to join him, Chris, and PJ for lunch. The food there was expensive and first class, and it also happened to be the only thing that wasn’t covered in his scholarship.

“You’re not eating?” PJ asked in surprise when Dan had avoided entering the line for food.

“No, I’m not very hungry today…”

Of course Dan’s mum had packed him a bag lunch, probably a delicious peanut butter and nutella sandwich, some crisps, and an encouraging little note, but such a pathetic meal would give away his secret instantly.

He noticed Louise gawking at him from across the room with her mouth wide open as he joined Phil and his friends at a reserved table in the back of the elegant dining hall. Oh dear, he would have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.

“So Dan, what exactly does your dad do in India?” PJ inquired politely.

Dan resisted gulping. “O-Oh, he mostly runs a lot of businesses over there.”

“I bet he makes a lot of money, huh?” Chris asked.

“Yeah,” Dan mumbled, eyes going downcast. A hand suddenly rested comfortingly on his arm.

“Wealth is nothing to be ashamed of Dan,” Phil soothed him. “But if I were you, I would just stick with us three. A lot of the bigots here are going to try and befriend you based on your status of money. Chris, PJ, and I all come from well established backgrounds, so we’ve been victim of this before. That’s why we really prefer to keep to ourselves…”

It all made sense now! These three didn’t look down on others like Louise and so many others in the school believed them to to; they were only protecting themselves from getting hurt. Dan suddenly began to feel much warmer towards them. At the same time he felt nauseated because he was lying to them about himself, albeit for a much different reason than most.

“Yeah Dan, don’t worry, there’s no need to get upset,” Chris, who read Dan’s somber expression wrong, consoled him.

After lunch there was only one period left, which was art class. Thankfully Dan didn’t know anybody in this class, so he was able to drop his facade and become immersed in the task of using watercolors to create scenery. He was left to a table alone since the other students eyed him warily, probably because rumor got around that he was in Phil’s group now. 

Suddenly as the end of the day neared, Dan realized that he didn’t want to be caught walking home. His neighborhood was only fifteen minutes away by foot, but if anyone from around here caught him in much a modern town, he’d be dead meat. Instead once the bell rang he hid in the bathroom for almost half an hour as he waited for the students to clear out. While waiting, he pulled out his crumbled lunch bag and ate his sandwich. Sure enough, there was a note from his mother.

‘Good luck today sweetheart, I know you’ll do wonderfully! xoxo -Mum’

Dan sighed, crumpling the note and stuffing it into the closest rubbish bin. He checked that there were no students around before exiting the bathroom and leaving the school as fast as possible, slipping out one of the back doors to be extra cautious.

His first day was finally over, but he had gotten himself tangled into a terrible web.


	2. Chapter 2

During second period French class the next day, Louise attacked Dan for answers.

“You totally lied to me, you are from a family of billionaires!” She accused him. “The whole school’s been talking about you. I feel so stupid now!”

“Oh great,” Dan muttered under his breath, and then said louder, “Look Louise, we’re not friends because of wealth or anything. Phil’s actually a really nice person, and so are Chris and PJ.”

Speaking of which, so far Dan had been carefully avoiding the trio all morning. Of course he would have to see them eventually, but his talent of avoidance was something Dan always prided himself in.

Louise didn’t appear to be listening to Dan at all. “I know you’re of a higher status than me, but you seem so much nicer than Phil. Can’t we still be friends?”

“Louise!” Dan found himself hissing through clenched teeth. “Money has nothing to do with who I befriend.”

“Oh, good. Maybe I’ll forgive you for lying to me then.”

Dan cringed, because if Louise had been offended from just this, than he could only imagine what would happen if, no when, she discovered that this was only a much bigger lie which was now in the hands of the whole school. He could have told her the truth right then and there, but his throat felt a bit tight. Of course he was being stupid. The longer this went on, the bigger the hole he’d dug himself into would become.

“So tell me about India; you must go there a lot if your dad is so important over there! I’ve always wanted to go to India myself, but Mother always chooses holiday time at our summer house in Paris,” Louise spoke again, ignoring the annoyed glare of their professor from across the room.

“I don’t want to talk about it, we’re supposed to be translating these sentences.”

Louise pursed her lips but dropped the subject. Dan sighed, he hadn’t meant to sound irritable, but just knowing that he had buried himself so deep was getting on his nerves. He should have just told the truth. It would have been better to be ignored rather than have his entire reputation based on lies. Unfortunately he was a pathetic wimp.

When it came time for Arithmetic, Zoe and Joe both regarded Dan warily. Louise, who seemed to have a habit of forgiving people quickly, immediately draped her arm across Dan’s shoulders.  
“You don’t need to worry, Dan isn’t prattish like Phil and his gang.”

“Phil isn’t a prat,” Dan spoke up as he slid into his chair. “You just don’t understand him.”

This whole school was just so confusing. Dan would have figured that anyone who wasn’t here from a scholarship should be regarded as rich and respected, but apparently even in a stupid rich kids’ school there was still a social ladder.

“Phil did speak to me once. Last year he asked me to turn my iPod down because the music was a disturbance to the class,” Joe said, sarcasm evident in his voice. Dan wanted to tell them the reasons for Phil keeping his distance from most students, but he couldn’t just reveal his secrets like that, what if Phil didn’t want people to know why? Even if he was a liar, he was still loyal to those who showed him kindness.

“I don’t think either of Phil’s chums are nice,” Zoe added. “Especially Chris Kendall. Just because his parents are so famous doesn’t mean he walks on a higher ground than the rest of us.”

Dan tried his best to drain out their gossip as he went through the problems of their assigned work. Some of these conversations were almost as annoying as the ones that took place in his old school. He found himself wanting to stick up for Phil as much as possible despite also wanting to avoid him, which would be impossible seeing as they had class together in an hour.

When fourth period did come around, Phil slipped into his seat next to Dan and gave him one of those really sweet smiles that made Dan’s tummy flip-flop. As usual he looked absolutely perfect in his personally tailored school uniform.

“Are you feeling a little better today, now that you know what to expect?” Phil asked as he set his books on the table and took out a glossy silver pen.

“Yeah, much better,” Dan said, smiling shyly at the black haired boy and feeling all earlier thoughts of dread slip away. Phil smiled back at him, and Dan found himself unable to look away from his colorful blue eyes. As class started, Dan found out even more about the school’s top billionaire.

“So, do you have any siblings?” Phil asked conversationally once the instructor had gone over the directions for the period, which were to answer grammar questions out of the textbook.

“A younger brother,” Dan answered, figuring that is was safe to say and didn’t give too much info away. “He’s only six though.”

“You should persuade your parents to get him into school. The earlier the better, and you don’t want him to feel as overwhelmed as you have, right?”

“Yeah,” Dan muttered, thinking of how popular and social his brother already was at their town’s public primary school.

“I have an older brother,” Phil continued. “He’s due to take over my father’s place someday. It’s nice really, because I don’t have a lot of pressure put on my back like he does. Mum still treats me like a baby.”

It was hard not to smile at whatever Phil told him. The black haired boy had a talent for holding people’s interest; it was impossible not to be captivated with him. One thing that he did like was that Phil barely asked him any deep questions about his family or money. It was probably because he saw how uncomfortable the subject made Dan and blamed it on his supposed previous homeschool-ness.

When lunch came around Dan once again denied the school food, sitting patiently at the table while the other three got their lunches. He noticed Phil frowning at him and squirmed a little; was he catching on to the situation?

It didn’t appear so, because after a moment Phil was all smiles again as he asked Dan what his favorite Pokemon was. Yes, it turned out that despite their differences in social class, they both had a lot in common. Pokemon, certain video games, and Muse were just a few of the many examples.

“So Dan, it’s almost been another full day. What do you think of Willow Grove?” Chris asked as he took a bite of his fruit parfait.

“It’s nice,” Dan smiled. “The best school I’ve been too, really.”

“The only school you’ve been to,” Phil poked him, thinking he was being sarcastic, and Dan felt sick at his minor slip up.

“I’ve always liked school,” PJ spoke. “My parents are both really into the whole education part of it. That’s normal for this school though.”

“It is?” Dan asked, eyebrows raised. He figured these rich kids could all just bribe their teachers for good grades.

“Well duh,” Chris rolled his eyes. “Think about the students of the school. A lot of them have to take over as head of the family someday. Our dear PJ has it pretty bad, they’ve been prepping him to take his father’s place since birth practically.”

Dan realized PJ hadn’t spoke much about his family’s wealth since they’d met. “What does your father do exactly?”

“Both of my parents have a lot of power,” PJ said a little slowly as he shifted in his seat. “But it’s old money that my family is based off of. The credit goes to my great grandfather really, he established a chain of gold mines in his time. He established a lot of business out of it.”

“Wow,” Dan blinked. “And you have to take over as head of your family someday?”

“Sure,” PJ shrugged. “But so do a lot of other children in our school.”

That had never occurred to Dan, but it made sense. In a way that sucked. Being rich was probably great, but also quite stressful if you had those kinds of expectations on your shoulders your whole life.

“What about you Dan?” Phil suddenly asked. “You told me you only have a little brother. Do your parents expect anything from you?”

“Oh,” Dan swallowed. “Um…no.”

Truthfully what his parents wished most was for him to attend university someday and get a good job. He knew they’d always secretly dreamed of him being a lawyer, but that was a career he dreaded. He knew they pushed for him to attend this school because it would basically be a free ticket to a good university afterwards.

“Lucky,” Chris sighed. “My parents want me to go to acting school, but I’m not sure if that’s my thing…”

“Why acting?”

“Dan,” Phil chuckled. “Surely you know…Chris’ parents are Margaret and Howard Kendall. I’m sure you’ve seen them on TV before.”

“W-What?” Dan gasped, and then suddenly realized why Chris had looked so familiar. Both his parents were pretty famous actors, in several movies he could list off the top of his head. He felt incredibly stupid for not realizing it beforehand.

“You can probably guess why I don’t talk to many students,” Chris said ruefully. “All the guys want to bang my mother, and the girls swoon over my father. Most people only want to befriend me because they think they’d meet my parents, but how wrong they are…my parents spend all their time in California.”

“Now do you see why it’s better not to bother with most people?” PJ asked him quietly. “It’s just that people always want to gain something more than just friendship. They want money, or fame and fortune…”

“Not everyone…” Dan mumbled. Really, all he wanted was friends. These three could have been from the ghetto and he’d still want to spend all his time with them.

“But most people,” Chris insisted. “You just don’t understand, Dan. You haven’t been around other teenagers long enough.”

Dan pressed his lips together. Another good opportunity to reveal his secret.

Or perhaps not…

...

Dan slowly became adjusted to his shameful dishonest life at Willow Grove Academy. Before he knew it Friday had come around. Each day he had grown to enjoy the company of Phil and his friends even more. It looked like he had managed to survive his first week and contain the truth about his shameful lies.

The fact that it was a Friday put Dan into a cheerful mood. He could certainly use a break from Willow Grove. Pretending to be the son of billionaires was definitely taking its toll on him….having to think over every single thing before he could say it out loud. Dan was mentally exhausted and also quite stressed out.

Part of him wished he had never lied, while another part of him felt guiltily proud to actually have friends and be looked at with respect by the other students around him. If he hadn’t lied he may have never became close to Phil, Chris, and PJ. Of course another large part of his guilt was because of the fact that they had revealed so many personal things to him, yet he had to keep his personal life to himself.

Dan was in for a mild scare after lunch that day when Phil had grabbed him by the arm before he left the dining hall and said, “Dan, meet me in the student lounge after last period, we need to talk about something.”

He seemed so serious. Immediately Dan felt his stomach do that twist of dread again. Feeling quite nauseated now, he nodded meekly. Was this it? Had Phil finally found out?

The black haired boy had squeezed Dan’s arm before they parted ways, so maybe this wasn’t about something bad? Either way, he still dreaded all through his last period. The professor had asked him is he was unwell at least three times.

When the final bell rang, Dan trudged up to the top floor of the school where the student lounge was located. It was connected with the library and was a place where students could study and hang out together after school and during any free periods. Dan had never been there before but it was easy enough to find. Phil was standing just inside the doors waiting for him.

“Glad you made it here alright,” He greeted Dan with a small grin. “Come on, let’s go find somewhere to sit.”

They ended up wandering towards the corner of the room to a small cozy couch. Dan sat next to his new friend and bit his lip in trepidation, wondering what on earth this was about.

“I’m just going to say what’s on my mind,” Phil spoke after a moment of silence. “You’ve been here a whole week now Dan. Unfortunately there’s some things I’ve noticed….”

This was it. Phil knew he was a fake. Dan couldn’t move a muscle, stuck in time as he waited for what was to come next.

“….You haven’t eaten a single thing during lunch at all. I haven’t even seen you eat a snack.”

What?

Phil looked desperate now. “Listen Dan, you have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I personally think you’re quite good looking. I know adjusting to being around judgemental teenagers is hard, but you certainly shouldn’t have to resort to such horrid methods! Starving yourself is very crude and unhealthy for your body. Eating disorders only lead down rocky paths….you have to realize that.”

It took several seconds for Dan to process exactly what Phil had just said. Out of all things for Phil to say to him, this had been the last thing he was prepared for.

His mind was split into several emotions. The first was humor. Him, having an eating disorder? Food was one of the most important things in his life! Pizza, stir fry, crisps, cookies…he was no stranger to the frequent indulgence of such things. It wasn’t his fault that the food here was so incredibly expensive.

The second emotion he was feeling was gratitude. Why people thought Phil was so mean was beyond him. To have only known Dan for a week and care so deeply about him…he had never had someone aside from his parents worry over him like that.

Thirdly, Philip Lester had just called him good looking!

Finally Dan was able to come to his senses, eager to reassure the other boy that he wasn’t hurting himself in such a way. Phil looked on the verge of tears, so he was quick to speak.

“Oh Phil….I promise you that I don’t have an eating disorder. I just…um, don’t like eating at school. I eat lunch when I go home.”

Phil still looked unsure. “You promise me?”

“I swear it. Trust me, food is one of my favorite things! In fact, I eat it at least three times a day, sometimes more.”

He’d managed to make Phil crack a smile. “That’s…God that’s relieving. We’ve all been worried, you know? It makes sense now I suppose…you’re probably not used to eating in public around so many people, are you?”

Dan swallowed a little nervously. “Exactly. So you don’t have to worry, okay?”

Phil looked much better now. “Okay.”

There was still something else Dan needed to address.

“Hey Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you really think I’m good looking?”

He’d managed to make Phil blush. “C-Course I do. You should know that yourself, most of the girls swoon over you in the hallways, even some of the boys too.”

Dan grinned. “Are you saying that you swoon over me as well, Phil Lester?”

“Shut up,” Phil laughed, shoving his shoulder as he stood up and began making his way toward the door, Dan following. “I’m sorry for keeping you after school. Can I give you a ride home?”

Dan really wished he could have accepted, but having Phil take him into a casual neighborhood to his small house would be an instant reveal.

“That’s okay, but thanks Phil. Seriously. Even if I don’t have an eating disorder, I’m glad you care enough to worry about me.”

Phil turned around and looked him in the eyes. “I’ll always care, and so will Chris and PJ. You have to trust me on that. It can be hard to find the right group of friends at school, but I can really assure you that you’ve found the right ones.”

Dan couldn’t stop smiling on his way out of the school, but as he continued on his journey home that smile slowly faded. He was such a horrible person to lie to the nicest boy on the planet. He wanted so badly to tell Phil everything that was going through his mind…all of his fears and worries. Being constantly surrounded by people who mattered more than he did…being afraid of judgement. So many things that he wanted Phil to comfort him about.

That want was futile though.

The reason Phil and his friends were so guarded in the first place was because they were afraid of being lied to. Of course Dan didn’t want to be friends because of their money, but he was still lying, which was terrible despite his own reasons for doing so.

There was no denying it; if Phil found out that he was a fraud, there was a good chance he would hate him.


	3. Chapter 3

Having two entire days to not think about school, save for homework, was very relieving for Dan. He could quietly stay shut in his room with his music and video games; he could be Dan Howell, a normal and certainly not rich teenage loner. 

Thankfully his family, except for his mother on occasion, allowed him to embrace solitude. After his first day, Dan was no longer bombarded with silly questions about his classes and peers. Dan knew that his lack of communication with his family unsettled his mother, but there was nothing he could say about this new school. His entire life there was a lie. It was depressing really, but also thrilling because for the first time there were actually people that talked to him, while those who didn’t had a silent respect. 

Not once had he been teased or taunted. Instead he had Phil, Chris, and PJ. Especially Phil. Something about Phil Lester made Dan feel giddy inside whenever he thought about him. The other boy was just so sincere and thoughtful. He had sort of taken the role of being Dan’s protector and role model, believing that Dan was a poor unfortunate child who had been isolated from the world due to his high status. 

Dan was isolated indeed, but that was by choice. In no way whatsoever would he ever be considered high status. 

As Dan thought about this, he grinned slightly as he bit into a large slice of pizza his mother had brought up. If only Phil could see him now, stuffing his face without a care in the world. Phil wouldn’t think he had a problem with eating then. He still remembered Friday afternoon clearly, when Phil had called him good looking after worrying that he had an eating disorder. For some reason that made him feel all happy and mushy inside. 

But whenever he started to feel that way, his thoughts would turn to the reason why he had even become friends with Phil in the first place, and his mood would sink like an anchor into the ocean. That was why for the entire weekend he tried to ignore any thoughts about school, including the people that went there. 

Saturday night, Dan’s phone had buzzed. That in itself was rare, seeing as he wasn’t exactly social. He didn’t even have use for a phone, but his parents got him one for safety reasons. Much to his surprise, the name ‘Phil’ came onto the screen. Dan had forgotten that he’d given Phil his number. Head buzzing, he opened up the message. 

‘Mum’s making me attend one of her charity balls again. I look like an evil robot with my black suit and hair combed back. Save me!’

Dan grinned, about to reply and tease Phil about his hair, but stopped. His mind swirled with possible future texts he would receive when Phil found out the truth. Dan would deserve everything given to him. He was such a loser. Only a loser would make up a silly backstory just to have friends. 

In a spur of the moment, Dan chucked his phone across the room, feeling satisfied when he saw the screen turn black. 

…

On Monday morning when Dan arrived to Willow Grove Academy, his first plan was to slink away to an empty classroom and avoid people. This plan was foiled when he was grabbed by the arm upon entrance.

“Morning Dan!” Chris greeted him enthusiastically. “I’m glad I finally found you. So far every morning you just seem to be gone from existence. We all hang outside the cafeteria, the chairs are wicked comfy.”

Suppressing a sigh, Dan allowed himself to be led through the elegant hallway, which wasn’t very crowded yet. There were four cushioned chairs conveniently placed in a lounging area beside the large door to the cafeteria. Phil and PJ were already sitting. 

As soon as he saw Phil, Dan felt his entire mood uplift. 

“Morning Dan, I see Chris managed to hunt you down,” He greeted, gesturing for Dan to sit next to him. “Where do you go every morning?”

Dan bit his lip, not looking Phil in the eyes. “Oh, I prefer to go to class early so I can make sure I’m prepared for the day.”

Chris snorted rather loudly, and even PJ looked amused. Phil only smiled. “Well I wanted to talk to you. How come you didn’t reply to my text on Saturday?”

“My phone broke,” Dan answered honestly. For once it wasn’t a lie; his phone hadn’t been able to turn on ever since he’d thrown it. 

“Want to buy another one after school? I could use a new phone myself.”

Dan looked over at Chris, who had spoken, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The rich boy was holding the newest version of the iPhone, and it looked completely new. Just as Dan was about to decline the offer, PJ spoke. 

“We could really do with an outing. Dan hasn’t spent time with us outside of school yet.”

Biting his lip, Dan looked over to Phil, who nodded enthusiastically. 

“How about it Dan? Do you want to go to the shopping center after school?”

Dan hesitated. “Well-”

“Of course he does!” Chris happily answered for him. Dan began to wonder why he ever thought the kid was scary; he fell much more on the overexcited and annoying category personality-wise. 

Phil was grinning wider now. “It’s settled then! We’ll meet up after last period and take my car.”

Of course now Dan’s entire day was filled with dread. He only had a few pounds in his pocket, money which he only kept on him for bus fares and such. Dan was almost certain that shopping with three incredibly rich teenagers would be hell, and he would look downright odd for not buying anything himself. 

When lunch came around though, Dan found the good mood of the other three rubbing off on him. It was impossible to not respond to Phil’s smile, or PJ’s calmness, or Chris’ joking. Dan made a point of stealing a cookie from Phil’s plate and taking a large bite, both of them sharing smiles at the memory from Friday.

“Ah, so news is that you’re not anorexic!” Chris said merrily, stealing the second cookie off Phil’s plate despite having three of his own. 

Dan blushed a little, realizing that the other three’s weird glances to each other during their previous lunches probably had to do with them thinking he had an eating disorder. At least that was one rumor cleared up now. 

When school had officially ended for the day, Dan met the others on the front steps of the school. He wondered what Phil’s car would look like. There were so many nice ones in the parking lot…

“Oh, Tim’s right on time!” Phil grinned and pointed to ridiculously large and luxurious limo that glided into the parking lot. “Come on!”

Dan groaned internally; of course Phil Lester would have a personal chauffeur that took him around in a limo. The car stopped at the base of the steps and Phil bounded down to the car, PJ and Chris behind him. Dan followed slightly more apprehensively. 

A middle aged man in a three piece suit had gotten out of the vehicle and opened the door for them cheerfully. 

Phil introduced them. “Tim, this is Dan! Dan, this is my driver!”

Dan waved awkwardly, while Tim grinned and patted his shoulder. “Phil talks about you quite frequently. I hope you’ve been enjoying school young man.”  
With that, the four boys sat in the limo. Phil opened a mini fridge and passed them fizzy drinks. This was all new for Dan, so he looked around in awe for a bit while the others settled back with their drinks. Tim, who was closed off in the driver’s section, drove swiftly toward the nearest shopping center. 

“Hey Peej, can I borrow your hoodie?” Chris asked. PJ pulled it from his backpack and handed the clothing article over with no questions. Dan couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. 

“It’s so warm out, why are you wearing a hoodie?”

Chris gave Dan a small smile as he pulled the hood over his head. “One of the drawbacks of having celebrity parents is being well known in the media. A lot of people know who I am, and they sometimes harass me by trying to my picture and get info on my parents’ personal lives.”

“Wow,” Dan bit his lip. “That’s horrible.”

Chris shrugged, but averted his eyes. “Usually that doesn’t happen, but it’s good to sort of hide a little.”

PJ slid an arm over Chris’ shoulder. “So Phil, anything you’re buying today?”

Phil smiled. “I want a bat t-shirt.”

Dan snorted. “Really Phil? That’s your main shopping objective?”

“What? Halloween will be here before you know it!”

Before they could get more into the conversation, they made it to the mall. Tim came over to open the door for them, which Dan secretly thought was stupid since they were perfectly capable of getting out themselves, and it only drew attention from passerby. Dan then realized Tim also had been holding onto Phil’s wallet, and handed it to him as he got out of the car. 

“Buy me something nice kiddo,” Tim ruffled Phil’s hair. “Behave boys. Just shoot me a text when you’re ready to leave.”

It was stupid, but Dan found himself fascinated with this small glimpse of Phil’s life. He had his own personal driver! It was insane really, but also cool. It made him wonder what Phil’s life was like when he was home in his house...or most likely mansion.

“Right, off to Apple!” Chris sang. “Do you think I should get an iPad?”

“You already have one of those,” Phil reminded him. 

“But not a mini!” Chris replied gleefully. “Man it feels good to be out of school!” 

“Where do you want to go Dan?” Phil asked. “Do you know what kind of phone you want?”

“Um,” Dan bit his lip, feeling his heart thump faster. “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t think I’ll get a new phone today…”

“Oh,” Phil blinked. “You still want to hang out, right?”

“Of course!” Dan rushed to assure Phil. Those annoying puppy dog eyes were seriously not okay. 

“Great. Do you want to look around?”

Chris looked impatient. “It’s settled then; me and Peej will go get some ipads. Phil and Dan can go be lovebirds. We meet up in an hour for food.”

While Dan blushed profusely, the other two boys nodded in agreement.

Walking around the store with Phil was just like Dan had surmised it would be like. The rich teen just went through stores and grabbed whatever he wanted off the shelves, paying effortlessly. So far he’d bought three new t-shirts (bat one included), a pair of shoes, two phone cases, an Avenger’s pen, and a new watch. 

“You don’t like buying things, do you?” Phil commented as they walked toward the food court. PJ had texted Phil a minute ago informing him that he was getting them all burgers.

“Not really,” Dan answered. “Well, I usually just shop online to be honest.”

That was actually the truth. 

“Me too,” Phil agreed. “But sometimes it’s nice to just be out with the public.”

Phil then moved his bags to one arm and laced the fingers from his free hand through Dan’s and squeezed them comfortingly. “I can tell you’re a little nervous. Don’t worry Dan, someday we’ll get you out of that shell.”

When they got to the food court, PJ and Chris were already sitting at a table. Chris was setting up the ipad mini that he’d purchased, PJ seemingly helping him. There were two trays containing delicious smelling burgers, french fries, and chocolate shakes. 

When Dan and Phil joined them, PJ first passed a plate over to Dan. 

“I know you don’t like eating in public Dan, but it’s really not good to go so long without eating. We’re in a pretty secluded part of the food court, so I guarantee nobody is looking.”

“If anyone stares I’ll flip them off,” Chris added, and Phil patted Dan’s back encouragingly. 

Dan didn’t deserve these boys as friends. 

“So what else should we do before I call Tim to pick us up?” Phil asked, and then Dan came to a horrific realization. The boys would see his house if he allowed Phil to give him a ride home!

He would have to take the bus and decline a ride home in Phil’s fancy ass limo.

…

“You don’t look so good Dan,” Louise said to Dan a week later during Arithmetic. “Is it grades or something?”

“Not grades,” Dan muttered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the desk. For the past few days he’d really been feeling worn down. The teen was almost a hundred percent sure that he was coming down with something. All of the stress from lying was finally catching up to him. 

“You ought to go to the nurse,” Zoe, who was on Louise’s other side, spoke in concern. 

“I’ll be fine,” Dan said, not keen at all about doing such a thing. He was also apprehensive about going to his next period, because once Phil saw him he was almost certain that the other boy would drag him to the school health center. That was why I deliberately got to school just as the bell rang, so he could avoid the trio. 

When next period did come around, Dan’s assumptions hadn’t been wrong. 

“Come with me,” Phil said, grabbing Dan’s arm and dragging him from the classroom. He didn’t even bother to bring their bags. 

“Wait Phil, I’m alright! Really!”

Phil didn’t answer, now having Dan’s hand in a tight hold of his own. It was usually comforting whenever they held hands, which happened almost every day now on the way to the classes they shared. That was all they’d done though...and they weren’t even dating in the first place. Dan just liked to get his hopes up sometimes. 

“I told you to stay home today; it was obvious that you weren’t feeling good yesterday either. It’s gotten worse, you look like you have a fever.” 

Dan bit his lip, still struggling mildly against the hold. 

Phil managed to drag Dan to the first floor of the school and to the health center, where there was a professional nurse always on duty. As soon as she saw Dan, his temperature was taken and when it turned out that he was running a fever, she tutted and left the room. Phil, who had stayed the entire time biting his lip with worry, crossed the room to sit next to him. 

“Well, looks like we both missed English,” Dan sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to ward off his forming headache. 

“I’m sorry for making you come here,” Phil looked apologetic. “But you really don’t look good Dan...you’ve just gotten so pale and flushed. I just worry about you. Half the time you look so out of place and stressed. I feel like I’m doing a really shitty job of helping you adjust to school…”

Dan opened his eyes. “Phil, trust me, you’ve done a great job. You’re my best friend in the world and I haven’t even known you for a month. Being stressed out...it’s my own fault.”

“Nothing's your fault Dan,” Phil told him seriously. “Being homeschooled for so long...I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but your parents should have thought that one over better.”

Too miserable to even respond or worry more about his lie, Dan only closed his eyes again and rested his head on Phil’s shoulder. They stayed like that for several minutes until the nurse came back with a cook class of water. 

“Mr. Howell, your mother is on her way to come pick you up.”

That statement got Dan’s attention. He bolted up fast, eyes widening. His mother couldn’t come here! He suddenly lurched forward in a panic and vomited into the nearby wastebasket, but it had nothing to do with his actual sickness. 

This was not good, not good at all...


End file.
